Insurance needed even for ‘breakneck breaks’

More and more British people are jetting off on short duration long-haul foreign trips, new research shows.

Some 3.7 million people travelled more than 5.5 billion miles to take a long-haul (more than seven hours) flight for a holiday of a week or less, a survey by the Halifax found.

And in spite of concerns about the carbon footprint of air travel, the numbers planning to take what has been dubbed a “breakneck break” in the next year are rising.

The study found that 4,987,000 Britons will take such a trip during 2008.

Travelling to less familiar, further flung destinations while attempting to cram in ever more to less and less time increases the need for travellers to have proper levels of travel insurance.

Paul Birkhead, senior manager of pricing and underwriting at Halifax Travel Insurance, warned: “Holidaymakers should not risk travelling without adequate insurance just because they are taking a short break.

“Things can go wrong whether you are taking a break for two days or two weeks. Travel insurance will cover you for the unexpected, making it vital that everyone has it. Lost baggage, delayed flights or illness can prove expensive, especially if you are 1,000’s of miles away from home.”

Tags: jetting, trip, carbon footprint, travel, duration

Carbon neutral targets looking ambitious

The government’s plans to make all new homes carbon neutral by 2016 have been given a huge vote of no confidence.

A survey of mortgage intermediaries, published by UCB Home Loans, has found that two thirds believe the target will not be achieved.

With just nine years remaining until the government’s target has to be achieved, the intermediaries pointed to the fact that fewer than 30 homes in the UK are currently carbon neutral.

This makes the 2016 target seem laughable and intermediaries were just as damming when asked if they thought the country would reach its carbon emission targets.

The government has set itself the task of reducing emissions by 60 per cent by the year 2050 but 44 per cent of intermediaries think that a target of 50 per cent would be ambitious.

“The views of intermediaries are important, because they are responsible for arranging a large proportion of all home loans – including new build developments,” said Keith Astill, managing director of UCB Homes Loans. “They deal directly with homebuyers and so are ideally placed to make a judgment.

“Whilst part of the reduction in carbon emissions will need to come from industry, the research indicates that most people are not yet aware of the actions that they will need to take if the UK is to meet its targets on carbon emissions.”

The research found that 98 per cent of intermediaries believe homeowners do not know the size of their carbon footprint even though the 21 million homes in the UK are responsible for 27 per cent of the country’s emissions.

Tags: Climatology, country, director, footprint, carbon emissions, nine years, environment, ucb homes